Special Branch: Unbound
POSTED BY: seryn
UPDATED: Friday, June 23, 2006 23:10
VIEWED: 21806
PAGE 5 of 12
OOC:
TRM: Who said that it was neccessary to take the brides away from the pageant to bring them here after all Seryn is currently two places at once.
WISP: Chivalry is spelled with a C.
Scorpion Regent
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Quote:
Originally posted by WashsYoungerSexierBrother:
OOC I resent the accusation that i am a lightweight!! Geeks can drink a lot too!!! So character development eh?
OOC: I thought it was quite funny. A nice little reference to Back to the Future 3 (I dont know if it was intended).
Also, Sorry it's taken me so long to post back. But I'm here now
...
Just before the arrival of the plant women:
Needy sat down by the fire, appreciating the beautiful sights. Unfortunately, the heat did nothing for the companion. He could not feel the warmness of the fire, his body neither hot nor cold, but seemingly nothing more than an husk meant for holding his consciousness - without that, it might as well be an empty vessel.
"I'm sorry"
Needy turned to face the one that had spoken.
Recognising who it was, he turned back again towards the fire, ignoring the voice.
"I'm sorry that what I did for you has left you irreversibly altered. But it was what I had to do."
"My guardian angel." Needy thought to himself.
"Sure you're sorry!" Needy called out to the person behind him.
Wisp shot the companion a funny look. "What?"
Needy looked at his comrade. "Sorry... just talking to myself"
"Ooookay" Wisp replied, attempting to mind his own business.
Needy looked back to the being that stood behind him, gave it a black look, before sighing and putting his head down.
"They must think I'm insane. Hell, maybe I am. I'm seeing... I'm talking to an imaginary person."
He looks as the being sits down between Wisp and himself.
Needy closes his eyes as he tries to ignore the being, hoping that when he opens them again, it will be gone.
"She's still there. Perfect... If it even is a "she". Who's to say?" He eyes the being, studying it for a glimpse that would provide answers to it's true nature. No such luck.
"She" had been with him ever since he died and came back. He didn't know why "she" still visited him. Needy knew what "she" had told him - that she was to guide him towards his destiny to saving the verse. "A likely story."
But what was the truth of "her" presence? And why had she chosen to take the form of one of his old friends - Serenity? It was a mystery. And it wasn't the only mystery in his life.
If she's just in my head... then how do I get her out. I can't go to a shrink, or to the nuthouse. I just can't. Mind over matter, that's all it is. Tell her to go away." He sighs again. "That didn't work. She always returns, no matter how much I tell her to leave. No matter how hard I try to ignore her. She's always there"
Mysteries clouded his mind, and drinking the alcohol before him was the only thing he could do to take his mind off of it.
Before long, he was drunk.
OOC: Woah, long post
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Needy. Male Companion:
First Boy Whore of Destiny
Incredibly Confused Companion of SereniTree
-----
www.myspace.com/needsalt
http://needsalt.livejournal.com/
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Safe watched Needy with interest. Needy was impervious to pain and his wounds healed themselves, yet alcohol affected him. Safe made a mental note to keep an eye on Needy and to sit down with him when he was sober to get the whole story behind his condition.
They had moved the ships near the crippled ISSCV, which Safe now leaned against. There was a lot to do and he was less than thrilled to be doing it on Boros. Besides the repairs to the ISSCV, there was the recalibration of the Dagger’s systems, which Grunt had almost completed. Plus he was still trying to wrap his head around the phenomenon that took the Sereni-Tree and the people aboard the ISSCV only to put some of them back, or were they ever gone to begin with. Safe was sure they hadn’t seen the end of the ripples caused by it. So many questions, where to begin…
And then there was that criptic wave from Soul to consider...
Shaking his head and sighing heavily, Safe pushes upright away from the ISSCV, accepting a warm smile and another beer from Seryn, his last no matter how good it was, Safe joined the others at the fire.
Bear grunts acknowledgement to Safe, never looking up from his third bowl of campfire stew, thanks to some wild potatoes and onions found by Seryn. Grunt was still typing away at the control module from the Dagger and Jennings was well on his way to being drunk along with Needy and Citizen, all of which had taken to singing songs… off-key.
Safe introduces himself to Wisp “I’m Seth Franklin, but everyone calls me Safe. Nice bit of flying back there.”
Wisp looks up from his laptop startled, still trying to shake the memory, to see a tall man about 6 foot with short sandy hair, obviously military judging by his stance and build. The man had just said something and was offering his hand. Wisp looked at it puzzled for a moment.
“You look a little green around the gills” the man says to him. “You ok?”
Safe waits for a moment then drops his hand when he doesn’t receive a reply. Wisp just seems to stare through him to someplace far away. Shrugging, he sits next to Seryn, who’s joined the rest at the fire.
Leaning back on his elbows, Safe looks around the fire at his fellow adventurers thinking *Well, it could definitely be worse* a small grin creeps across his face.
Seryn sees the grin and punches Safe lightly in the arm. When he turns towards her, she grins back at him.
OOC: I left an opening in case anyone else was missed.
Now THAT was a long post.
Safeat2nd, Chief Handyman of Destiny
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Quote:
Originally posted by safeat2nd:
Safe watched Needy with interest. Needy was impervious to pain and his wounds healed themselves, yet alcohol affected him.
OOC: Oops, was that a goof?
Ah well, he can't be super-super-human, maybe alcohol its his kryptonite.
Oh, and you post may have been long, but nothing will beat Seryn's essay earlier. That rocked!
---
Taking note of Safe's (failed) introduction to Wisp, Needy realises that he still doesn't know these people all that well, other than their names.
"Right," he says, starting to stand up. Those around the fire slowly look towards him. "Since we here are..." he staggers to his feet and tries to keep his balance "still kinda strangers. Maybe we should introduce ourselves. Get better aquainted"
Safe smirks and replies "I hope you don't mean what I think you mean."
Needy looks at him clueless, his face straining as if he is desperately trying to keep his eyes open and remain conscious.
Safe clarifies "I thought by "better aquainted" you were referring to something sexual. Obviously not"
Seryn slaps him on his shoulder. "Hey give the guy a break. Just because he is a... you know... doesn't mean everything that comes out his mouth is an innuendo"
Safe hangs his head down in shame, whilst Needy stares at Seryn.
"What?" she asks
A cheeky smile appears on the companions face before he announces, "In Your Endo!"
OOC: Yes, I stole that gag from Todd in "Scrubs", but it makes me laugh every time.
Another thing: I just realised that, although the title of the thread has changed to "Special Branch", it still shows up in my list of messages and on the main page as "Unbound". Why?
Edited to add: Doesn't matter now. It's now showing up on the main page as Special Branch: Unbound, after I renamed it in the Subject box. I didn't know I could do that
-----
Needy. Male Companion:
First Boy Whore of Destiny
Incredibly Confused Companion of SereniTree
-----
www.myspace.com/needsalt
http://needsalt.livejournal.com/
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Seryn finishes the last of her stew and leans back, elbows resting on a log behind her. She examines the three guys in Safe's crew, caught between the urge to get to know them, and the realisation that the big one probably bites. And not in a good way.
Movement around the other side of the circle catches her attention, and she watches, one eyebrow raised as Needy stumble's to his feet, he gives his speech, heckling taken in his stride, then sits back down before he falls.
Silence decends.
"Ok, ladies first then I guess" she jumps up with as much energy as she can muster and wonders how effective introducing themselves in firelight whilst drunk is going to be. Her tallish height exaggerated by the flames, her dark brown hair given a red glow, and her face with it slightly above average features obscured, it'd be a miracle if her own mother recognised her. She gives a theatrical bow to the rest of the group, eye glowing with mirth and alcohol. "Hi, Seryn. Just Seryn, I had a surname but I lost it somewhere... Formerly Captain Voodoo Nell of the Drobies Revenge, though if you haven't heard of me, don't worry, i'm not sure that the sea's I sailed were even in this dimension.
Anyway, before that, I think I sewed things... and before that I was a spoilt little rich girl, an ubringing for which I am eternally grateful, as it meant I could learn to fly that beauty over there.." she sloshes her beer in the direction of the Nandi "and nothing else of much use. the small legion of rabbits over there are mine, at some point I need to find new owners for the babies, they'll fetch a good price, if we can find suitable people, so thats fuel for a few months. Um, pretty much it. oh, yes, In about seven months i'm months i'm going to be a mommy." She sits down again, not daring to look and see the reaction that last line got her "we are not selling that one."
Theres a cough, and she settles back on her elbows again.
The next person get up to introduce himself, and she turns to Safe.
"Sorry to bring that one up. Figured it was best to get it all out at the start, minimises issues later. Don't ask me what I'm going to do, cause I haven't worked that bit out yet, but it shouldn't cause any problems for us, handled properly." She smiles. And he attempts to smile back at her, not entirely convinced.
Reminded by thoughts of hair, then shape changing, then the recent escapades on the commerce planet, she frowns, reaching down she pulls off her boot and examines her foot. Not a scratch, not a hint of mud, and for that matter, boots, she could have sworn Serenity was still wearing them when she left the Tree. She frowns again, and turns back to Safe. "This... hiccup thing. Us all getting wrenched about in space, and probably time, did you get caught in it? Did you lose anyone, or did things change? Do you think we'll ever work out what happened?"
He seams about to answer, then shrugs, the look on his face making it obvious that it concerned him too. It concerned all of them, she new Needy was troubled, and as soon as the beer wore off, the others would be too.
She resolved not to think about it for the moment, it was a task for the morning, when hungover cells would need the distraction, and turned her attention back to the speaker.
(ooc- you know, up until about 8 hours ago I would have had no idea whatsoever you were talking about, but I saw that episode for the first time today, but that was a funny ep. Is it wierd that i'm beginning to like the Todd? Aw, and Cox's kid, cute, he's going to grow up to be Badger, you can just tell from that end scene.)
**********************************************************
Hodgins: Your robot reminds me of you. You tell it to turn it stops. You tell it to stop it turns. You ask it to take out the garbage it watches reruns of Firefly.
FozzieWash, You know what I always say: sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!
KermieMal, I never Know what the heck you're talking about.
FozzieWash, Hey, look! They're sending us free lumber!
http://www.myspace.c
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“Hello! Hello! Is it my turn next?”
One of the plant women slowly pulls up her roots and starts walking nearer the campfire… but not TOO near. Her smooth naked body has a woody quality, and she has leaves and red flowers for hair. As she moves, there is a strange creaking sound. She smiles, and this also creaks.
“Hi. Here’s my life story: Uh, I was planted, and then I grew larger and larger, and then I uprooted myself and walked over here.”
She takes a beer and pours it over her feet. Then she tosses the empty on the fire like she has seen others do.
“Not a very exciting life, I guess.”
Suddenly, she lets loose an incredible belch. “Oh, excuse me!” Then she smiles. "Hey, that was kind of exciting!"
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Wisp had been watching the AA Meeting from the doorway to the shuttle and thought he should join in.
"Im Wisp. Got a real name but it sort of has a warrant (or six) to go with it" Wisp pulled another beer from the cooler and continued to talk.
"Born on Ariel to an middle class family went to a good school had a great career as a technical wiz-kid to go into. But. My parents were terrified of the Alliance, during the war they attended every unification march,meeting,protest you name it. I Got dargged into their little 'dont arrest me im a zombie' plan.
From age seven onwards i was sent to the military Youth Acadamy. Rarely saw my parents. The military were training kids to be officers and soldiers at young ages so theyd be dangerous weapons by the time they reached adulthood. I wasnt easily brainwashed"
Wisp looked into the sky like a dying man looking at his wife. Then he shook his headand returned his gaze to the fire.
"I stuck it out till i was 14. Then I ran away. Lived on the streets of Capital City. Learned a lot more things, Got in a lot more scrapes, met a LOT of women. I ended up providing technical expertise for a shady business venture run by a mob and earned myself a warrant or two so i left my name behind and started using my call sign from my youth"
Wisp looked around at the motley crew and smirked inwardly.
"I ended up On commerce after another unfortunate incident, joined the tree did some thrilling heroics. Eventually the I decided to go back home to capital city, but the phenomenon pulled me onto the Nandi and Thats where everyone came in"
Wisp then walked back to the transport.
"Ive arranged a plan to get the parts we need and stuff but it'll save till morning. Im going to bed"
He walked into the shuttle and climbed into a sleeping bag after his confesion. He left out the part about her. She'd either be no problem or a gargantuan problem. and either way he couldnt do Jack.
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Around the fire, the newly formed crew exchange looks, waiting for the next person to introduce themselves.
"Ah, what the hell." Needy suddenly stands up, trying his damndest not to fall back down again.
Stabilising his balance, he stands up straight, the fire warm against his legs as he addresses the people there.
"Hi, the name is Needy - not my actual name granted, but I'd rather not let that out. For those that don't know, yes I am a male companion, so deal with it. I know there are some that don't view my job as a respected one, hell my parents and friends thought I was an idiot for making a carrer of it, but I do ask that you keep your opinions to yourself. I grew up in a place called "the digs" on the outskirts of Kara on Londinium, before beginning my training when I was assigned to the companion house on Boros. It was there that I met Serenity, a remarkable woman most of you know, who lived on a ship called the Sereni-Tree. If it hadn't been for Mr Safe asking for my help though, I might never have saw her again, nor ever set foot on the ship, so I'm grateful to him for that."
Safe nods to Needy, accepting his thanks.
Just as the others expect the companion to sit back down though, he carries on.
"Of course, that was a big mistake... leaving home. Sure I've had adventure, and seen the stars but at what cost? I was shot; apparently died; had a spiritual encounter with a strange being that looked like Serenity, only she wasn't; I came back to life and found that my body chemistry had been changed dramatically - I'm now apparently bullet-proof; I found myself in constant unbearable pain which means I now have to take pills to numb me just to get through the day, only these pills seem to numb me completely so that I can't feel any sort of pleasure whatsoever..." Needy takes a large breath.
"Then I finally step aboard The Sereni-Tree where everybody knows me because apparently somebody that looked a lot like me and called himself Needy had stayed on board the ship months before... only it wasn't me.
"And to top it all off, I'm plagued by visions of that being I saw when I died, still posing as my old friend, popping up when I least expect it, only no one else can see them. And he/she/it is telling me that if I don't get my act together and accept my destiny as saviour to the verse, life as we know it could cease to exist. I try to ignore it but the thing won't go away, and the only reason I'm here with you now is because I gave in and did as it said, and... and..."
"And all I want is to sit back and relax with a cup of tea and possibly have a good time if you get my drift."
Needy sighs - a weight being lifted from his shoulders as he vents his thoughts.
When he realises all is silent, he looks around at the crew.
"Hello?" he asks
Seryn shakes her head and looks up. "Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. What did you say?"
Seryn wasn't the only one. It seemed, others too had gotten bored of his rant and shut themselves off.
"Forget it" Needy mumbles, "I'm gonna get some fresh air"
"You're outside already" Bear grunts.
"And some space... Fresh air and space. I'm just going to go for a walk, okay?"
Needy leaves the group and walks off into the distance
-----
Needy. Male Companion:
First Boy Whore of Destiny
Incredibly Confused Companion of SereniTree
-----
www.myspace.com/needsalt
http://needsalt.livejournal.com/
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Seryn starts off with good intentions, listening appreciatively to Needy's story. Its so good to learn more about the people who may get you killed any day now...
she smiles, but then her mind begins to wander and try as she might she just can't seem to absorb the words. She looks over to the other side of the camp. Wisp and the others seem to be intent on a figure near them, With a small gasp, she makes sense of what she is seeing.
Digging in her back she pulls out a dress, and after a thought, and old bottle of linseed oil, and walks over to the naked femal made out of a tree.
"Um, hi.... you may want these..."
"and uh, this.."
"Oh thank you, thats very kind ah...?"
"Oh, Seryn. No problem, I ha, have to go back over there now"
She seat herself again, still a little freaked, and wonders if she's way drunker than she thought. She throws the contents of her bottle away, and lays down a little more, and attempts to listen to Needy again.
**********************************************************
Hodgins: Your robot reminds me of you. You tell it to turn it stops. You tell it to stop it turns. You ask it to take out the garbage it watches reruns of Firefly.
FozzieWash, You know what I always say: sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug!
KermieMal, I never Know what the heck you're talking about.
FozzieWash, Hey, look! They're sending us free lumber!
http://www.myspace.com/seryndippyt
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Looking around the campfire, Safe decides it’s time to tuck in. Wisp had already retired, Needy was “walking off his drink” and the talk had turned to talk of a living plant women. That, itself, was a sure sign it was way, way past time for sleep.
Safe excuses himself with a small bow to Seryn, and heads for the ISSCV. Slipping quietly in, so as not to disturb Wisp, he sets up the perimeter alarm, settles into the pilots chair and props his feet on the consol. Gazing out the windshield at the stars, Safe allows himself to relax and slips off to sleep.
Outside, Grunt sits atop the Dagger cleaning his rifle and scanning the horizon. Earlier he had drawn the short straw for first watch
Safeat2nd, Chief Handyman of Destiny
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